The Progressive Puppy

Latest Media Lie : Biden is Out of the Obama Loop

In the Progressive Puppy's ongoing quest to bring you the most egregious of the traditional media's obfuscations, ineptitude and outright untruths, here's a little gem to ponder.

We recognize that the post-election doldrums and the onset of the holidays is making the news biz a little antsy for some scoopable juicy stuff.  Never fear, corporate stenographers! Hillary is scheduled to be officially named as Secretary of State tomorrow so you can gear up all those Clinton non-controversy hand-wringing speculation stories again (Will Bill send Barack a Christmas card and what does it mean to the future of the planet if he doesn't?)  Well, but, that's tomorrow and we gotta fill the airwaves and newsprint til then so let's blare this headline on Politico and have a bunch of sheep other media puppets pick it up and run with it:

Bidenity Crisis: Where's Joe?

The article breathlessly detailed the alleged absence of the vice president elect from the Obama's public appearances of late: More than three weeks into the transition, and Vice-President elect Joe Biden generates less buzz than the non-existent first puppy. The vice president-elect has not spoken publicly since the election, and was at Barack Obama's side just once this week as the president-elect delivered a series of grim news conferences on the economy. Oh my! What is going on here? Has Joe Biden already been dumped on the trash heap of history? What are we to think, ol' sage media? After all, you cite a multitude, several, some, one source for your thesis that Joe Biden is Missing in Action.

The Washington Post's David Ignatius wrote (with no substantiation either): "Where is he these days?" Do they have him in a box? He can't be happy at the idea of considering Clinton as foreign policy tsarina — wasn't Biden's foreign policy savvy the reason he was picked?"

The very same article then goes on to report that Obama and Biden have met for weekly one-on-one lunches since the election. Biden has also been at every key transition meeting and has had private discussions with Obama on the phone when the vice president-elect has regularly returned from the transition base in Chicago to his home in Delaware.  "He's been very closely involved in the key decisions," said former U.S. Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.), who is working with the Obama transition on intelligence. "He and the president-elect have a very good personal chemistry."

Hmmm.... hey corporate media, if Biden has been meeting and talking with Obama continuously and has been part of every major decision, do you really have any news here?  Oh, never mind... just another instance of our Fourth Estate's increasing resemblance to Access Hollywood. Stay tuned. Next up: The Hillary/Barack Contentious Split: He likes broiled salmon; she insists on BAKED!

Rowdy's Roundup: Pakistan, Oklahoma, Drew Barrymore (and more)

BooMan was hoping that Bill Richardson would be Obama's SoS, but he doesn't see Richardson's appointment to Secretary of Commerce as a consolation prize - or a slight to his core constituency:  "It isn't a snub to the Latino community. In narrow, parochial, terms, Richardson will probably be able to do more good for the Latino community at Commerce. And Richardson isn't owed the State Department. Hillary Clinton may be slightly less qualified on paper, but she has intangible strengths that certainly put her in the same league with Richardson... Many people inside the Washington foreign policy establishment, including Steve Clemons, have raised alarms about Richardson's managerial style and fitness for State. In other words, it isn't a total slam-dunk case that Richardson would be the better of the two. In fact, I think John Kerry has a good case that he is the best fit for the job, and he could argue that Obama owes him the position, too."  (At least we haven't seen Joy Behar angling for the job.)

Hailey Branson at OU Daily explains why not a single county in the Sooner State voted for Obama:  "Though many are questioning why Oklahoma is shifting to the right, I believe the answer is simple. The state is becoming more conservative because it has politicized Christianity and turned liberalism into a sin... Oklahomans are proud of the fact that their state is most conservative in the nation, despite the fact that it contains more registered Democrats than Republicans. It breaks my heart that, outside campus, I cannot discuss politics in my home state without my faith being questioned. It breaks my heart that, in this state, there is little room for the middle ground. A person has to agree with everything — or nothing — a party stands for."  (Branson goes on to note that homo-hating Sally Kern was re-elected by a comfortable margin.)

Yglesias sees an upside to the country's financial meltdown:  "One silver lining in the dark clouds of the economy is that it looks set to alleviate the military’s recruiting woes as declining labor market prospects in the civilian economy leave more people looking kindly on joining up...  the decreasing casualty levels in Iraq and the prospect of a new, popular, non-horrible commander in chief also seem to be playing a role."  (If and when President-elect Obama ever gets around to repealing the military's DADT policy, the ranks should swell even more.)  More after the jump... 

TPLO Recovery: Limiting Activty in an Active Dog

Maggie had been limping for several days when Art and I drove her to the animal clinic in Winnie, Texas.  At first we weren't terribly concerned.  Our two labs spent lots of time running on the beach and it wasn't uncommon for one of them to get a bruised pad or some other small injury which quickly healed on its own.  This was different.  That leg really seemed to be hurting her.  After a surprisingly brief examination, the vet informed us that Maggie had blown out her anterior cruciate ligament and needed knee surgery to repair the damage.  We were told that without the TPLO surgery, permanent lameness would likely occur even though from time to time her leg might seem to improve.  While we didn't doubt the vet's diagnosis, Art still researched the condition on the Internet and I got some invaluable advice from my online pals at ChatEVO, folks whose dogs had already undergone the surgery.  We learned that the most daunting part of the experience was the long recovery period, during which Maggie's activity would be severely limited.  This would prove especially difficult for us since our beach house was suspended on pylons and could only be reached by some very steep stairs.  Figuring out how to get our 110lb lab up and down those stairs for potty breaks without re-injuring that knee presented a challenge.

I put together a video documenting Maggie's recuperation, with tips for facilitating the recovery process.  Maybe it will be helpful to people who are considering TPLO surgery for their dogs.  (The video runs about 4 minutes.)

Holiday Violence (plus other mishaps and absurdities)

In San Antonio, the driver of a speeding pickup told police that God ordered him to crash into a woman's sedan and "take her off the road" because she "wasn't driving right." When the truck rear-ended the car it was traveling in excess of 100mph. Surprisingly, neither driver was seriously injured and authorities found no evidence that alcohol or drugs contributed to the incident. (One wag at the Houston Chronicle suggested that the man might qualify for a job with Kentucky's Homeland Security.) At a Wal-Mart in Long Island, New York, an employee of the retail giant was trampled to death as thousands of early morning shoppers rushed to enter the store. Several people were hurt in the crush, including a pregnant woman who was taken to a nearby hospital. (Mother and baby are both doing fine.) Not to be outdone, Toys-R-Us shoppers in Palm Desert were treated to an in-store gunfight after two customers got into an argument at the checkout line. As bargain hunters jumped for cover the men ran down the aisles firing their weapons at each other. Both men died and several Hannah Montana dolls were injured. Out of respect for the victims the store was closed - for the afternoon.

Turning to less violent news, a gift shop at the Miller Park Zoo in Illinois is selling Christmas tree ornaments made from reindeer turds. As reported on Yahoo News:  "The droppings are dried, then clear-coated and either painted or rolled in glitter. Zoo marketing director Susie Ohley has named the products Magical Reindeer Gem Ornaments, and each comes with a label of authenticity." (I really must have one of these, for that "label of authenticity" if nothing else. Hmm, what do you suppose it says? "This lovely ornament was created using genuine reindeer shit.")  Moving right along, residents in Shadyside Village, Pennsylvania, were told they must turn off the taps this Thanksgiving after the DEP found high concentrations of fecal coliform in their water supply. Environmental officials think the contamination may have been caused by a sewage system malfunction. (Let's hope it's as simple as that.)  And a writer over at TMZ ate crow instead turkey for his holiday meal. The entertainment supersite had previously claimed that the headmistress of Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls had been charged with abusing her students. It now appears that Nomvuto Mzamane wasn't even suspected of this crime, much less arrested. Since TMZ doesn't name the post's original author and today's apology is only credited to "staff," we must assume that no one there is legally responsible for Mzamane's ruined reputation. Sarah Palin's farcical turkey pardoning photo-op has been covered by blogs from here to Uranus, so I really have nothing worthwhile to contribute to that - but I did notice during the carnage that Sarah's hair kept its shape. 

Rightosphere Itching to Take On Obama and ... Their Own

They're chomping at the bit; can't wait until January 20th arrives. No, I'm not referring to the millions of Americans who cast ballots for Barack Obama. And it's not just the millions more who want to see George Bush go back to Crawford permanently. (Fifty-one days to go, fellow survivors!)  Right-wing bloggers view being part of the party on the outs as a great opportunity to catch up with the lefty bloggers who have, up til now, ruled political punditry on internet.

Conventional wisdom is that the right wing dominates talk radio while the progressive blogs wield more clout than the conservative websites. However, as The Hill Newspaper reported this week: A Washington in the hands of Democrats offers online pundits on the right a fresh political target and a chance to vent against their ideological opponents. The reverse scenario allowed their liberal counterparts to blossom during the blogosphere’s infancy, when the GOP controlled the Congress and the Bush administration held power between 2003 and 2006. But the aptly named “rightosphere,” much like its liberal counterpart, “the netroots,” doesn’t simply want to criticize the other team. It sees this as its time to reshape the Republican Party.

“The rightosphere will be much better when the right has something to oppose,” said Jon Henke, who writes at The Next Right. Oh, and we can already list the topics the wingnut blogs will be the favorite objects of their bloviating: health care reform, workers' rights, offshore drilling, and all that government spending (note: it was fine when the Rethugs were doing their drunken sailor impersonations; not so okay with the Dems in the White House).

Before they get all riled up about anything an Obama administration does, the right wing bloggers first have their sights set on their own party.  And here's where it gets interesting... they don't agree on anything.  Republicans' favorite pastime is cannibalism and the devouring began even before John McCain lost the election.  Several bloggers on the right have particularly targeted traditional media pundits such as Peggy Noonan and David Brooks.  Well, and anyone else who dared to raised questions about Sarah Palin's readiness for national office (or state office, mayor's office or the post office, for that matter.

Matt Lewis, a blogger at Townhall.com, wrote that Palin’s conservative critics cost McCain votes.  RedState has adopted a particularly hard Palin line: If you don't recognize Sarah the Moosehunter as the future of the GOP, we'll ostracize you.

Even putting Palin aside, the rightosphere is preoccupied with a debate over igniting future cultural wars or retooling to expand the Republicans' ever shrinking base.  Here's how that conversation goes: "Lemme see.... should we amp up on the gay marriage bashing or pretend we like Mexican food and salsa music?  Bible thump at every turn or make Michael Steele the (black) face of the RNC and then hang the "Diversity Accomplished" banner?"

Without a doubt, a new Democratically controlled government will galvanize the right wing into a fist of opposition fury, but this current delicious skirmish of in-fighting has the markers of a GOP internecine battle that will not be resolved easily or soon. Type on, Rightosphere.  The Netroots are enjoying the show.

RW Christians provide disHarmony for eHarmony

Back in 2005, Eric McKinley sued eHarmony for violating New Jersey's anti-discrimination law.   The matchmaking mega site, after doggedly refusing to provide equivalent services for gay and lesbian customers, recently reached an out-of-court agreement with McKinley and the NJ attorney general's office.  Although eHarmony founder Dr. Neil Warren would admit no wrongdoing in the settlement, he did consent to set up a separate - er, segregated - site called "Compatible Partners" to accommodate the state's LGBT individuals.  He also paid $5,000 to McKinley. 

Needless to say, Warren's decision has been denounced by social conservatives who love to portray themselves as victims of an omnipresent "Gay Agenda."  Peter LaBarbera at Americans for Truth sent a letter of outrage (as all his letters are) to Dr. Warren accusing him of damaging the cause of religious freedom.  "You could have set an example to Christians and freedom-loving Americans everywhere by fighting on principle for your company’s First Amendment right not to be bullied into submission by a politically correct state bureaucracy.  Instead, you capitulated!"  (ProPup hasn't wasted many bytes on Porno Pete; he's the guy who dresses up as a leather fetishist and goes "undercover" to S&M events, supposedly to expose their wickedness.  Butt plugs, we presume, are optional.)  J.P. and Amanda Duffy, who met on eHarmoney back when it was a "godly organization," now accuse eHarmony of promoting nasty one-night stands:  "eHarmony has assisted thousands of couples in building strong marriages. However, this goes beyond eHarmony's corporate reputation."  (Duffy works for the so-called Family Research Council.)  From the ever conservative Wall Street Journal:  "eHarmony has spent millions of dollars battling attempts by homosexual litigants to force it to cater to them."  (Not just litigants, but those dastardly homosexual litigants!)  Wingnut columnist Michelle Malkin writes, "This case is akin to a meat-eater suing a vegetarian restaurant for not offering him a rib-eye."  (Not exactly, Mal - unless you're equating cow flesh to a living breathing human being.)  On the O'Reilly Factor, sister wingnut Laura Ingram has been braying that eHarmony is being persecuted for its Christian beliefs.  (Where would evangelicals be without their persecution complexes?)  And on and on and on and on... 

As unpleasant as all this is, we expect these shrill fundies will soon tire of ce nouvel objet de leur indignation.  After all, there's a War on Christmas coming up!